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“I can't wait to see her,” said Erik, 21. “It's our first time since Christmas, really. It's going to be fun, me and her. She always has a million jokes for me.”

The move is a comfort to Brown's mother. She said she has been having trouble coping with a divorce.

“Erik's always been soft-hearted,” she said. “He's a sweet, lovable person. If somebody is down, he'll pick 'em up. He's like that with the family. He's like that out there on the field.”

This time last year, Brown secured a release from Fresno State and showed up as a transfer at UTSA a few days before the team's first game.

The former Judson standout eventually played in eight contests and started six.

Now, he said he can't wait to line up as a starter against South Alabama on Thursday in Mobile in the Roadrunners' second season opener.

“The difference between last year and this year is, this year, there's more bonding (for me),” Brown said. “I know more of the team, more of the players, individually.

“Last year, I was just a transfer from Fresno, trying to help out. Now I'm part of the family.”

Standing on the turf at Farris Stadium, he pointed toward the entrance to the team's dressing area.

“Those are my buds in there now,” Brown said. “I call all of 'em my brothers.”

UTSA junior linebacker Steven Kurfehs said it's been fun to see Brown become more closely tied into the unit.

“When he comes in the locker room, he turns that music on, he's dancing and getting everyone fired up,” Kurfehs said. “He's like an emotional leader.”

It's not surprising. Brown once played for one of the most emotional coaches in the area — Jim Rackley.

Now retired, Rackley was the coach five years ago when Brown and the Rockets took four losses into the state playoffs. They got hot and wound up in the Class 5A state title game.

Brown said he sees some similarities in the way fans viewed the 2007 Rockets and the 2012 Roadrunners.

At the start of the playoffs in Brown's junior year in high school, nobody picked the Rockets to reach the title game. Similarly, it's hard to find anyone picking the Roadrunners to do much this season.

Hey, you might as well criticize his mother's meatloaf.

“I think we're picked to finish last in our division (in the Western Athletic Conference),” he said. “We like that. We like people talking about us that way. It just brings out the best in us.”